


Late night call

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: How to woo your local barista [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Barista Raphael, Demisexual Raphael Santiago, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Phone Calls & Telephones, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7776691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fingers of his hand, the one not wrapped around the slightly steaming mug, reached for his cell phone and he knew it was too late, that Simon was asleep and would certainly not be happy about being woken up in the middle of the night. Raphael knew he shouldn't contact the other at this hour but his brain was suddenly convinced that he <em>needed</em> to talk to the other and, honestly, right now he wanted nothing more than to hear the other's voice. Simon hadn't been able to drop by the café the day before because he had an exam that took longer than expected and Raphael <em>missed</em> him. He always looked forward to Simon's visits, enjoyed to watch the elder dive into his work for university and loved the fact that the other obviously wanted to be near him.</p><p>Raphael's finger hovered above the 'call' button and despite knowing he shouldn't do this, not wanting to disturb Simon's sleep, he still ended up pressing it. It rang a few times and just when Raphael was close to hanging up, there was a click, followed by a very sleepy sounding "Yes?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late night call

"I thought you headed to bed at 11? That was three hours ago...why are you still up?" A very sleepy and slightly ruffled looking Magnus leant in the door to the kitchen, squinting against the harsh light that hurt his no yet adjusted eyes. Raphael pulled a face before turning around, answering with a tiny shrug and crooked grin.

"I did go to bed. Then I woke up again. Now I can't sleep," he replied truthfully but didn't mention why he woke up - because of one of those stupid dream sequences where you fell down somewhere and jerked awake with the feeling of your heart about to burst from your chest. Raphael hated such moments and for some reason he always had trouble to fall back asleep afterwards. Luckily, such dreams didn't occur very often and it was the weekend so he didn't have to get up early for work.

"I hope you don't expect a goodnight story because I'm way too tired and need my beauty sleep. Get yourself a mug of hot cocoa, maybe that'll help," his best friend suggested with a soft grin before stepping into the kitchen to playfully ruffle Raphael's already sleep-mussed hair. "Hopefully, you can go back to sleep soon," Magnus added with a yawn, barely managed to hide it behind his hand, and then he was out of the kitchen and back to his room again.

Raphael shook his head, mumbled a "Sleep well, weirdo" and he didn't even know why the elder had woken up as well. But it was Magnus, who knew what had him wandering the small apartment at this hour. He was pretty sure not knowing was a much better choice than asking.

In the end, Raphael didn't make cocoa but a mug of hot milk with some honey to take back to his room where he wrapped up into his still warm blanket and snuggled up on the sill of his open window. Winter was closing in and the air felt chilly but Raphael had always loved listening to the city at night. Only a few cars could be heard every now and then, but otherwise, it was surprisingly silent. There was the soft  _whoosh_  when the wind moved the branches of a nearby tree, somewhere in the streets were the admittedly slightly creepy sounds of a cat hissing at something and he was almost certain to hear a few crickets, despite being in the middle of the city. It was eerily silent but usually managed to sooth his nerves after being awoken uncomfortably.

This night, though, he couldn't seem to relax properly and even bundling up more, sipping the honey sweet hot milk, didn't quite do the trick. It only took his mind a few minutes to wander where it ended up more often than not lately: Simon. Only a few days had passed since they had seen each other face-to-face on their third date. The date that ended with the elder's soft lips against his cheek. His heart immediately sped up at the memory and his lips pulled into a gentle smile. It wasn't even funny anymore how gone Raphael was on the other guy.

The fingers of his hand, the one not wrapped around the slightly steaming mug, reached for his cell phone and he knew it was too late, that Simon was asleep and would certainly not be happy about being woken up in the middle of the night. Raphael knew he shouldn't contact the other at this hour but his brain was suddenly convinced that he  _needed_  to talk to the other and, honestly, right now he wanted nothing more than to hear the other's voice. Simon hadn't been able to drop by the café the day before because he had an exam that took longer than expected and Raphael  _missed_  him. He always looked forward to Simon's visits, enjoyed to watch the elder dive into his work for university and loved the fact that the other obviously wanted to be near him.

Raphael's finger hovered above the 'call' button and despite knowing he shouldn't do this, not wanting to disturb Simon's sleep, he still ended up pressing it. It rang a few times and just when Raphael was close to hanging up, there was a click, followed by a very sleepy sounding "Yes?"

His heart immediately started beating faster and his lips instantly curled into a soft smile because even this single word already sounded so adorable and he couldn't help but wish to be able to see the other right now. To see Simon's with sleep-clouded eyes and mussed up hair, maybe a crease from the pillow on his face.

"Simon, hey, it's me, Raphael," he greeted softly and already felt bad again for waking the elder but sitting there alone in the dark of his room, wrapped up in his blanket, the warm mug in hand and listening to the city at night, he had suddenly longed for Simon's company and calling was the option closest to having the other next to him.

"It's...half past two. Why are you calling? Did something happen??" Simon sounded a little more awake, with an edge of worry in his sleep-rough voice. Of course, Simon thought something must have happened because who in his right mind called someone at this hour - even on the weekend.

"No, no. Don't worry. Nothing happened. I'm sorry for waking you up for no reason. I just...really wanted to talk to you for a bit," Raphael admitted and sounded sheepish to his own ears. Saying it out loud made him realise how stupid this must sound and he really shouldn't have done this, damn this. Simon made a confused, disbelieving sound and Raphael could picture him scrunching up his face trying to figure out what was going on.

"You...called me in the middle of the night because you wanted to talk to me," Simon repeated and the younger boy hummed in confirmation, felt his cheeks heat up despite the cool night air brushing his skin. God, he was such an idiot. He was about to apologise again and end the call but to his confusion, he suddenly heard a soft little chuckle.

"Lucky for you, it's the weekend and I don't have to get up early. And lucky for you I like you way too much to complain to be awoken at this hour."

Raphael's heart sped up some more and before he even realised he was on the point of saying something, his lips already formed the "I like you, too". He was 17 and he never once acted this dumb when he was younger but Simon obviously made his brain malfunction. Magnus would laugh at him if he ever heard of this.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop by the café yesterday. I really wanted to see you but the exam took forever to finish," the elder sighed and Raphael could hear the soft rustling of a blanket because the other probably changed into a more comfortable position.

"No need to apologise. I would have loved to see you but exams are important and...maybe we could see each other tomorrow instead?"

"Yes, that would be nice. I only meet Clary for breakfast but I'm available all afternoon and evening. I was thinking about going to the cinema for the new Marvel movie. We could go watch it together! Or...watch a different movie, of course, if this isn't your thing," Simon suggested, stumbling over the words and Raphael was pretty sure a 20-year-old was not supposed to be this ridiculously endearing.

"I don't mind watching it. But I only ever saw the Hulk movies and the first Iron Man, so please don't expect me to have much of a clue concerning this topic." Raphael knew that the other loved these kinds of movies (all kinds of movies  _and_ tv series!) and it was fascinating to listen to the other talk and see Simon’s whole face light up when he told about something he loved and Raphael would watch every movie if it meant seeing this expression.

"Oh, that means I have to introduce you to a lot of movies in the future. I'm shocked you only saw those few...Please don't tell me you're one of those impossible people that haven't even seen Star Wars?"

Raphael couldn't help but laugh at the pleading, almost comically desperate tone of Simon's voice and he was this close to lying and pretend he didn’t know the movies, just to shock the elder some more, but he ended up huffing in disbelieve.

" _Of course,_  I have seen Star Wars. I might be behind with other things but I didn't spend my time living under a rock." Raphael grinned at the clearly relieved sigh from the other end of the line and he really, really wished to see Simon's face right now and maybe even steal a kiss from his invitingly soft looking lips. Ever since their last date and Simon kissing his cheek before leaving, he sometimes caught himself thinking about what those lips might feel like pressed against his own.

"That's a relief. Okay, so, do you want to meet at my place tomorrow afternoon? We can head to the cinema in the evening and grab something to eat afterwards. The cliché kind of date," Simon suggested and Raphael could hear the other's smile that was mirrored on his own lips.

"I would like that."

"Okay, I'll text you the address and I guess it would be good to go back to bed now - I don't want to fall asleep in the cinema, as much as I would love to continue listening to your voice."

Raphael agreed and apologised again for the late call but Simon clarified again that he didn't mind and that he had been happy to talk to the younger boy. They ended the call with soft  _Good night_ s and even though it took Raphael nearly half an hour to fall back asleep afterwards, he couldn't get rid of the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and the happy tingle in his stomach at the thought of meeting Simon again the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> Somehow the other parts turned out better than this one? I'm not quite pleased with this one and I should really stop writing stuff in the middle of the night because it always feels like I screw up when I work on stuff after midnight. Hopefully the next will be better again.


End file.
